Garden Club lays groundwork for hanging baskets

HILLSDLE — Members of the Hillsdale Garden Club spent Tuesday morning planting petunia hanging baskets that will beautify lamp posts in downtown Hillsdale this summer.

The club set up shop at Gleis’ Orchards for several hours with a goal of producing 163 hanging baskets.

Past President Becki Jaeger said nearly half the club of 59 members were involved in the project that first involved repairing and reassembling the chains on Monday for approximately three hours.

Jaeger said the club activity involved four potential new members.

“To become a new member, the ladies are asked to attend a meeting and an activity,” Jaegar said.

Current Club president is Connie Sexton with Cheryl Paul, president elect, soon to fill the position. Longtime co-chairs of the planting event include Colleen Savarino and B.J. Holton.

Savarino said the annual planting day is something the club has been doing for close to 15 years.

“Gleis is so gratuitous to us for this project,” Savarino said. “They are a strong instrument in the process and are very accommodating.”

Jaegar said the baskets were lined with burlap this year and coco fibers with aluminum pie pans placed in the bottom of each basket to catch water. The baskets were then filled with Gleis potting soil and three petunia plants were placed in each basket.

The planters will be housed at Gleis until they are distributed. Jaeger projected the planters would be hung Mother’s Day weekend due to the possibility of frost.